Pros:

Cons:

ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails featured some fantastic multiplayer options for PSP owners, which helped overcome major control flaws and visual glitches that made the single-player game less than stellar. It's interesting, then, that Rainbow and THQ would bring us a PSP iteration of MX vs. ATV that improves upon Sony's offroad title in almost every conceivable way -- yet eschews that game's enjoyable and complete feature. Yes, you will be able to enjoy four-player races and competitions in On The Edge, but you will only do so with buddies in the same room: sadly, there is no infrastructure multiplayer, a disappointing decision that limits the potential appeal.

Yet you won't want to do yourself the disservice of avoiding On the Edge, not just because it's a solid port of a solid game, but because it's simply enormous, featuring a mind-boggling number of play modes, tracks, vehicles, and customizations. Indeed, being able to take so much game with you on the go is the game's brightest attribute. Throughout the lengthy single player choices, you'll encounter three main event types, seven racing events, four freestyle events, and approximately one zillion tracks. Of these tracks, eight are new to the PSP version, although five of them are dedicated to the all-new Big Air Challenge event.

And what better event to show off Unleashed's track record of stunning physics? Even with all the races, vehicles, and modes at your disposal, the star of the show continues to be the arcade-friendly physics, which are neither overly-forgiving, nor too punishing. In short, regardless of your choice of vehicle -- ATV, motorbike, buggy, monster truck, or whichever -- there's something simply right about the feel behind the wheel. Heavy vehicles feel weighty, while you can practically feel the wind rush by in the nearly weightless airtime of a sand rail. Yet whether you are racing, freestyling, or catching some air in the new event, you'll never feel as if you are wrestling with the vehicle. On the other hand, the limited analog stick makes it much easier to overcompensate both on the ground and in the air than with a console controller, so it will take most players a few tries to get comfortable. Even then, it's probable you'll be slamming into the environment or your fellow racers more often than you like.

Even with the spectacular numbers of vehicles, familiarity with the course is the key to winning most events. Not only must you use the air to your advantage, but events will test your trick skills, your command over the clutch, and your pre-loading abilities. The difficulty is adjustable, and later, so are the physics options, yet being comfortable with your vehicle will ensure success in almost every situation. Rubberband AI is in evidence, which makes the game a tad on the easy side, but this is an arcade racer, and the tracks wind in and out of beautiful, detailed environments, keeping your eyes glued to the screen and your reflexes -- well -- on the edge.

The single player goodness makes the lacking multiplayer stand out like a sore thumb. All of the racing and freestyle events are available in multiplayer, but not only are you limited to three other players (compared to the already-disappointing limit of six racers on console), only ad-hoc play is available. We have to assume that only the most dedicated of multiplayer race enthusiasts will bother looking for enough players to make it worthwhile. If you only have another friend to join you, it's barely worth the trouble, since most events simply aren't worth it with only two players. There are no technical troubles with connection, and joining and starting an event is painless. It's too bad that this all-important element of the genre has been trimmed down to bare minimum.